The Avoidable Bane of Incompetency

"A surprisingly large number of people claim to have worked for a manager who was clearly incompetent. Some people even believe, that in certain sectors, the incompetent outnumber the competent. This book looks at when, why and how managers become incompetent and what to do about it. It does so with both science and humour by reviewing what we know about competences, about personality theory and about various salient psychiatric disorders."

The above paragraph is a partial review for the book, "The Incompetent Manager."

If you are the manager of a company, the quickest way to lose the respect of your staff is to be incompetent in your abilities, actions and personality. After all, these people look to you for guidance and leadership.

So how can you avoid losing their respect? Simple. Make sure you are competent at performing your job duties. In addition, make sure you treat people with kindness, respect and dignity.

Let us first examine what I said about being competent in your job duties. Now I am not suggesting that you have to be the sharpest tool in the shed - although that certainly would not hurt. However, you do not want to be the dullest tool either.

Because the last thing you want is the people under you questioning your knowledge of the job, and your ability to manage effectively.

For example, if you are weak in your finance / budget skills, you can strengthen your skills by taking a short finance training courses at your local community college or go and ask someone in the Finance department for some advice. People love sharing their expertise, so dont be afraid to ask.

These extra courses or tuition will not only make you more competent in budgets and finances, they will also give you more confidence and make you a more valuable employee as well. This could lead to promotions, greater responsibility and higher pay.

Now let us examine what I said about treating people with kindness, respect and dignity. A Manager can demonstrate this behaviour by simply encouraging co-workers to express opinions and ideas, listening to what others have to say before expressing your viewpoint and being there and available to support your staff.